All Articles Tagged "campaign finance"
Gray’s Campaign Woes Hamper His Administration
(Washington Post) — Nearly eight months into D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray’s administration, he has been unable to shake the misdeeds of his 2010 mayoral campaign. Rather than being able to move forward with a clear message on how he’s running and changing the city, Gray has been dogged by mounting allegations that some members of his campaign acted illegally.
Reed Builds Big Campaign Fund
(AJC) — Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed raised more than $630,000 for his re-election campaign over the past six months, putting him on pace to exceed his massive 2009 totals, while sending the first shot at anyone who might want to challenge him in 2013. Reed released his fundraising totals on July 8 to the state ethics commission in a 69-page report. He collected about $100,000 more than Republican Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal over roughly the same time frame, though in fairness Deal doesn’t face re-election till 2014.
Gray Cash Donations Exceeded Legal Limit
(Washington Post) — D.C. Mayor Vincent C. Gray’s campaign accepted cash contributions above the city’s legal limit and in some cases recorded donations from people who say they didn’t contribute to his mayoral bid, according to a Washington Post review of District records and interviews. The Post found several instances of cash donations that exceeded the city’s $25 limit. Gray campaign workers then improperly exchanged that cash for money orders, which carry a higher donation limit. The campaign officially reported the money-order donations and not the cash, The Post found. Money-order donations totaled more than $56,000 — primarily from the city’s taxi industry — and are part of the $2.7 million war chest the Gray campaign amassed in last year’s defeat of incumbent Adrian M. Fenty, who spent nearly $5 million on his reelection bid.
Obama Campaign Already at $47 Million
(New York Times) – President Obama raised $47 million for his re-election campaign in the three-month period that ended June 30, his aides said on Wednesday, far outpacing the Republican candidates who hope to replace him. Mr. Obama also raised about $38 million for the Democratic National Committee, using a series of joint fund-raisers this spring to fill party coffers and begin building a field operation for the general election. The total haul — about $86 million — broke the record for joint fund-raising between a president and his national party committee in any quarter of a nonelection year, reflecting the significant powers of an incumbent president to raise money and the progress Mr. Obama’s campaign has made recently to rebuild the donor network that helped him to victory in 2008.
Kwame Brown to be Deposed
(Washington Post) — D.C. Council Chairman Kwame R. Brown will be deposed Monday as part of the Office of Campaign Finance investigation into how he used and accounted for money he raised in his 2008 reelection campaign. Wesley Williams, a spokesman for the Office of Campaign Finance, said Brown (D) will be put under oath about 10 a.m. Monday in the office of his lawyer, Frederick Cooke. “This is just part of the investigation,” Williams said.
Brown Failed to Report Hundreds of Contributions, Audit Finds
(Washington Examiner) — D.C. Council Chairman Kwame Brown’s 2008 at-large council campaign failed to report more than $133,000 in contributions and more than $203,000 in expenses, an audit by city investigators has found. The D.C. Office of Campaign Finance concluded that Brown’s 2008 campaign committee finance reports “do not reflect the financial activity of the committee,” according to an audit released Tuesday. The office referred numerous violations to the agency’s general counsel, who will determine whether fines should be levied against Brown. But some officials say there’s not much the Campaign Finance Office can do about the violations. “D.C. has watered down campaign finance laws with regard to punishment,” said former U.S. Attorney Joseph diGenova, who declined to comment further without first reviewing the audit.
Obama’s Reelection Bid Might Reach a Billion
(Christian Science Monitor) — Is anybody surprised that Barack Obama will run for reelection next year? Of course not. For months, Republican presidential hopefuls have been angling toward challenging him next year, and he’s the man to beat. And given how well organized his campaign was in 2008 (not to mention the wake-up his 2010 midterm shellacking provided), you can be sure the last run in his political life will be just as efficient and even better financed. The fact that Obama will make it official this week starts the clock ticking toward November 6, 2012 – a mere 583 days from now. As soon as Monday, he’s expected to file papers with the Federal Election Commission for a campaign operation now forming in Chicago. “Former West Wing staffer Jim Messina, Obama’s likely campaign manager, has been holding donor meetings around the country, and the president is scheduled to hold a series of fundraisers in New York and California over the next few weeks,” reports Politico.com. “The campaign is expected to raise $750 million to $1 billion.”
City Council Candidates Raised $1.6 Million Since Feb. 22 Election
(Chicago Tribune) — Candidates in Chicago’s 14 aldermanic run-off contests have reported raising $1.6 million in big-dollar contributions since the February election, including more than $200,000 from Mayor-elect Rahm Emanuel’s New Chicago Committee, a review of campaign disclosure reports showed today. The Illinois Campaign for Political Reform said Emanuel’s New Chicago Committee is the largest direct donor to candidates in the April 5 run-off contests with more than $215,000 in contributions spread among seven contenders, followed by the Service Employees’ International Union with nearly $170,000 in funding spread among eight candidates. The union coalition Unite Here gave four candidates a combined $83,000 and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees dropped more than $78,000 among six contenders, campaign reports showed.
City Council Candidates Raised $1.6 Million Since Feb. 22 Election
(Chicago Tribune) — Candidates in Chicago’s 14 aldermanic run-off contests have reported raising $1.6 million in big-dollar contributions since the February election, including more than $200,000 from Mayor-elect Rahm Emanuel’s New Chicago Committee, a review of campaign disclosure reports showed today. The Illinois Campaign for Political Reform said Emanuel’s New Chicago Committee is the largest direct donor to candidates in the April 5 run-off contests with more than $215,000 in contributions spread among seven contenders, followed by the Service Employees’ International Union with nearly $170,000 in funding spread among eight candidates. The union coalition Unite Here gave four candidates a combined $83,000 and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees dropped more than $78,000 among six contenders, campaign reports showed.
Obama Returns to Harlem for a Lucrative Fund-Raiser
(New York Times) — Add this to all the evidence that Harlem has been gentrified since Barack Obama’s days as a Columbia Universitystudent: He returned there on Tuesday evening as the nation’s first African-American president, and for a $30,800-a-person fund-raiser. The fund-raiser at the new and wildly popular Red Rooster restaurant was expected to raise about $1.5 million for the Democratic National Committee, a party official said. Afterward, Mr. Obama attended an invitation-only reception at the Studio Museum in Harlem for past Democratic donors. Manhattan, the nation’s financial capital, has long been a fund-raising magnet for presidents of both parties, including Mr. Obama. But since being elected this was Mr. Obama’s first visit to Harlem, the community that historically has been a center of African-American culture but by Mr. Obama’s college years had become synonymous with the definition of an American slum.